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GSA Software Outdated

The Defense
Department needs to rethink how it buys and develops software, according to
Defense Innovation Board report.

The Defense Innovation
Board warned that the Defense Department’s age-old approach to software
procurement and development could dull the military’s technological edge.

“A large amount of DOD’s
software takes too long, costs too much, and is too brittle to be competitive
in the long run,” the board said in the study’s executive summary of its Software Acquisition and Practices report. “If DOD does not take steps to
modernize its software acquisition and development practices, we will no longer
have the best military in the world, no matter how much we invest or how
talented and dedicated our armed forces may be.”

The SWAP study was
mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act in fiscal 2018. It examines
how the agency procures and advances software and offers recommendations on how
it could do so more efficiently.

The board noted that the
study largely echoes recommendations and conclusions drawn from past studies,
and particularly a 1987 Report of the Task Force on Military Software by the
Defense Science Board.

“This particular
assessment, from over 30 years ago, referenced over 30 previous studies and is
largely aligned with the assessments of more recent studies, including this
one.”

In its latest study, the
board emphasizes three “overarching themes” that are critical to their
findings. First, the study identifies speed and cycle time as the most
important metrics for software. It notes that most Defense software projects
use “waterfall development processes” that take years to identify requirements
and select contractors, and by the time the projects come together, the
software or tactics may be outdated.

Because software is made
for people by people, the report notes that digital talent matters. Yet it
argues most of Defense’s human resources policies are not “conducive to
attracting retaining, and promoting digital talent.” The board said while DOD
presently has military and civilian expertise, it’s not taking advantage of its
internal personnel through pay bonuses, outlined career paths, or access to
early promotions.

The board also iterates
that software is different from hardware. Though Defense buys software in the
same light that it does hardware, it should actually be developed, deployed and
improved using different and less-linear cycle times.

“The current approach to
acquisition was defined in a different era, for different purposes, and only
works for software projects through enormous effort and creativity,” it said.

The board organizes its
specific recommendations for the Pentagon into “four lines of effort” that
bring together multiple defense stakeholders.

It suggests that
Congress and Defense must refactor statutes, regulations and processes for
software to allow for more rapid deployment and continuous improvement to the
field.

It also said the Armed
Services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense should create and maintain
cross-program and cross-Service digital infrastructure and eliminate existing
hardware-centric regulations and barriers. The board also recommends they
establish new paths for digital talent by presenting software development as a
high-priority career track.

Defense and industry
should also work together to change the actual practice of software procurement
and development by modernizing approaches in a way that prioritizes speed as
the most critical metric.

“In many ways this mission is as challenging as
any combat mission: while participants’ lives may not be directly at risk in
defining, implementing, and communicating the needed changes to policy and
culture, the lives of those who defend our nation ultimately depend on DOD’s
ability to redefine its approach to delivering combat-critical software to the
field,” the board said.